Operator Is at Fault for Fatal Crane Accident, City Finds

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A crane collapsed in Lower Manhattan in February, killing a man walking on the street. Its operator, Kevin Reilly, failed to properly lower the boom, officials found.CreditCreditNancy Borowick for The New York Times

The operator of a crane that collapsed and killed one person in Lower Manhattan in February failed to properly lower the boom and was responsible for the accident, New York City officials said on Friday.

After an investigation by the city’s Buildings Department, officials suspended the license of the crane’s operator, Kevin Reilly, and moved to revoke it permanently.

Mr. Reilly had failed to secure the crane the night before the crash and lowered the boom of the crane at an improper angle, causing the crane to become unstable, officials said. The department said it would work with the City Council on rules to improve safety, including tougher licensing requirements for crane operators.

“The crane operator involved in this incident acted recklessly, with tragic results,” Rick D. Chandler, the city’s buildings commissioner, said in a statement. “The actions we’re taking should send the message to everyone in the construction industry that safety must come first.”

A lawyer for Mr. Reilly, Stacey Richman, declined to comment on the findings, and said she had not finished reviewing the city’s report.

Last month, a crane operator and a construction worker were killed in Queens when a steel beam fell from a crane on a windy day. Officials are investigating the accident and said it appeared there was a problem with the crane’s rigging, unrelated to the wind.

In the February accident, a video captured the red crane falling and crashing on to the street below. The crane’s boom was 565 feet long, leaving debris scattered across roughly two blocks of Worth Street in TriBeCa. The city’s investigation found that the crane did not have any structural or mechanical failures, officials said.

Mr. Wichs, 38, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia when he was a teenager, was heading to his job at a trading firm in Lower Manhattan when he was killed. He was married and had a degree in mathematics from Harvard.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: City Blames Operator for Crane Collapse. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe